01/02 – 01/06:

Okkervil River, I Am Very Far

A game changer for the band, I Am Very Far is a breath of fresh air I didn’t even know I wanted. I loved the sound on their previous two records immensely, but Okkervil River’s willingness to try drastically different new sounds here, and their success in doing so, is electrifying. Like all of their albums, it’s a powerful, moving, multi-layered experience, but the music has a brand-new bombast and grand new production that are appealing in a whole new way. A welcome surprise.

Okkervil River, “The Valley”

Mike Patton, Mondo Cane

Mike Patton isn’t known for being predictable, but a full album of 50s & 60s Italian pop performed with a full orchestra and a choir in Italian is about as far from what you’d expect from the man as possible. Even more surprising is that it’s one of the very best albums he’s ever released, alone or with any of the thousands of bands he seems to be in. Patton’s amazingly adaptive voice is truly on display here, going from crooning ballads to crazy screaming and never disserving the material. It’s a great album.

Mondo Cane, “Ore D’Amore”

Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli, Djangology

The final recordings by the famous duo who more or less invented “gypsy jazz,” Djangology is a tour de force of standards from their days in the Quintet du Hot Club de France and other compositions. Released as a double album several years after the fact, it was actually recorded in a series of sessions with Aurelio de Carolis on drums, Carlo Pecori on bass, and Gianni Safred on piano. Django was forced to invent his own style of guitar playing due to a childhood injury that resulted in the partial paralysis of two fingers, but that unique, inimitable style made him famous, and even played a part in saving his life when he lived in occupied France in WWII. Grapelli was no slouch, either, a gifted violinist who went on to play with everyone from Duke Ellington to Pink Floyd in his long career. But it was their work together with their Hot Club that made their names, and which birthed most of the songs on this collection. Django is one of my all-time favorite jazz performers, and this mammoth 23-track collection truly makes for a fine crash course in Djangology.

Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli, “Minor Swing”

Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

My favorite Spoon album. Honestly, probably the only Spoon album I genuinely love. They’ve tended to be more miss than hit for me over the years, but this one had a strangely more accessible quality to me. It felt more organic and honest, and really grabbed me like nothing they’d done and nothing they’ve done since.

Spoon, “The Underdog”

Yup
--D